How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 114

The Day the Archmage Died (2)

The Archmage Glockt is a person from the past, but he is mentioned quite often in the <Sylvania’s Failed Swordsman> scenario. Because he left a lot of footprints.

He has been recognized for his various research achievements in various academic societies, regardless of fields such as elemental science, monster ecology, herbalism, magical power management, responsive principle theory, and elemental science. He did things like saving a city-state on the periphery from danger, or subjugating the highest-ranking fire spirit Theorphis and the highest-ranking water spirit Friede at the same time… . He is, indeed, the one who lived the life of a hero.

After retiring, he inherited the will of his mentor, the great sage, Sylvania, and devoted himself to nurturing the younger generation, and invested all of his lifelong assets in the field of education or research in academic societies. He says he spends almost no money on himself.

Traces of that still remain in this Sylvania Academy.

The Glockt Hall, one of the three buildings in the student union, the Glockt Scholarship Foundation, which I once owed, and the magic theories of Glockt that remain in the regular curriculum.

If the great sage Sylvania is the one who founded the Sylvania Academy, it can be said that the great wizard Glockt is the one who has inherited the will and developed the academy into the world’s best educational institution.

There are materials that I simply read in the setting book, and after moving to this world, I memorized the biography of the great man until I could memorize it. This is because he is one of the most important characters in magic history classes.

However, nothing is known about his end. At least historically that is.

still… I kind of knew about it. This is because <Sylvania’s Failed Sword Master> deals with Lucy’s past to some extent.

When he thinks he’s robbed all his assets and has done all he can… It hides in the huge mountain range of the Rameln region in the northwest of the continent.

Lucy was found abandoned in a monastery there, and he was brought in and raised. He recognized the girl’s magical talent at once and bestowed the blessing of a star to make that talent bloom in an instant.

Just in case there was something unexpected… Lucy’s magical talent was far greater than Glockt’s thought.

Even if left alone, she was a girl who would have awakened her magic and made a name for herself as a wizard, but she even met a great wizard who will go down in history as her teacher… Possibilities meet with each other, causing a chemical reaction to become a gemstone with enormous talent.

Anyway, the great wizard Glockt spends his twilight in the Rameln Mountains.

While doing writing activities as a moderate hobby, doing survival activities, and living while polishing the jewel of mankind called Lucy Meiril… Eventually, it will reach the end of its lifespan.

Rainy Day. shabby cabin.

The great wizard Glockt was completely haggard, to the extent that his past as a great man who commanded the world and led the history of mankind was colorless.

Her back was bent and wrinkles were all over her body. Because of his thick beard, half of his face is not visible, and his white hair, which has been leaked out, is just frizzy without any shine.

There is no family to stand by him. Her wife, whom she met in her youth, lost her life while fighting Theorpis, and all who could be called her colleagues also died.

All the people he met after becoming a great man were those who were in awe of him or who tried to take advantage of his fame. Those who stand at the pinnacle are always so lonely.

took a long trip

If you look at it as a book, it was so turbulent that a huge adventure action epic could come out of nowhere.

Still, at that destination, there was someone who would take over the will. That alone allowed him to congratulate himself on having lived a fairly successful life.

A night when the pounding rain hits the roof of the cabin.

A wizard’s journey ended like that.

“And so, my journey began. It’s over now.”

“It’s over…?”

at sunset.

A time zone that connects Aken Island’s lively daytime with calm nighttime.

The sky was dyed red, ready for the long, long night to come.

By the time we were accepting the darkness little by little from the eastern sky, Lucy and I were walking together for a long time.

Lucy was leading the way by holding me tightly by one arm and dragging me, and I was walking in moderation.

Lucy can fly with all sorts of lightening magic applied, or if she uses magical powers boldly, she can even move long distances with space-type magic. There is also a history of being determined and pouring out all of one’s mana, and then flying from Ophelis Hall to the northern forest in an instant.

Still, Lucy dared to walk slowly. There is a feeling of wanting to keep pace with me, and there seems to be a story I want to tell as I head to my destination.

“For now, you can leave your hands behind and walk. I’m not going anywhere.”

I got out of the forest in the north, passed through the living quarters, and came to the vicinity of the western coast. I mean it’s been quite a while already.

On the way back, I passed through the living quarters, and my face was itchy from the people around me staring at me.

It was because the current form Lucy was dragging and I was being led was a very strange sight even to the people around me.

Lucy is the head of all Sylvania and has a high reputation as a rare genius wizard. His face is not well known, but… In any case, those who find out mean that they find out. Especially for Sylvania students.

It’s uncomfortable to receive a lot of strange stares while passing by the living room, and it’s also a little numb because I’ve been stretching my arms for such a long time.

“It’s like I’m being dragged because I’m like this. It’s okay.”

As I added that, Lucy glanced down at her arm and then back at my face.

His eyes are still blank, but he seems more emotional than before. Anyway, after knowing them for a long time, they say that somehow everyone is able to open up. It’s just amazing that this girl who used to be like a talking doll is starting to look like a human.

Lucy untied her arms and twisted the ends of her pure white hair for a while. Then she swung down her large witch hat and nodded her head.

“So, where are you going now…? If you just tell me first, where will you go…”

“The coastal area west of Aken Island. We’re almost there.”

“Isn’t that just a beach? Did you suddenly want to see the sea? It’s not like that.”

“…”

Lucy was about to say something, but just shook her head, as if it was difficult to explain.

Then, flapping the extra sleeves, he waved his hand in the direction he was going. I didn’t want to say anything, just said I knew it and continued walking after Lucy.

“Do you know where that old man’s hometown is…?”

“Glockt the Archmage? Did you say that you were from the Lawless Zone of Kohelton?”

Lucy shook her head.

“That’s just where the old man once spent his childhood.”

“what…?”

“The history books are wrong.”

This was another odd point. The fact that the book itself is wrong is right in front of the person who can confidently talk about it.

Lucy must have been a story she had heard from Glockt himself, so Lucy was probably right.

“then…?”

“Here, this Aken Island.”

“…”

In Lucy’s eyes looking up at the sky while adjusting her hat, the early evening sky is wide open.

A few birds were disappearing into the distant forest in the setting sun.

From here on, the area is completely outside the scenario. And it is outside the realm of history.

It’s not in the setting book of <Failed Sword Saint of Sylvania>, but it’s not even in the history books of this world. It was completely submerged.

“When the old man was in the middle of asking for learning, there was no such a large school on Aken Island, and it was just full of a few indigenous villages and monsters.”

“It must have been like that at the time. In the first place, the large-scale subjugation of monsters in Aken Island also happened after the Sylvania Academy was established.”

“Actually, there was a Sylvania Academy at that time, but the scale was very small… It was embarrassing to even call it a school. It was just a private class building.”

A school built by the great sage Sylvania on this island of Aken. It wasn’t that famous yet, and there wasn’t enough energy to recruit students like students.

I wonder what kind of childhood Glockt, who met Sylvania on this Aken Island, would have spent… Neither I nor Lucy know.

― ‘Sylvania Academy is a treasure that my teacher, Mr. Robester of Sylvania, devoted his life to the advancement of learning.’

― ‘There are so many trials that have already been observed in this precious treasure. Of course, it only looked right in the eyes of Sylvania-sama, who is a researcher of astronomy.’

― ‘The ground hardens after rain, so this Sylvania Academy will overcome most trials on its own… An ordeal that cannot be overcome without your strength will surely come.’

― ‘When the time comes, even if you see this old man… Will you please lend me your strength… ? Lucy.’

“What was so much fun was that he always told the story of his days when he was asking to learn on the island of Aken, and he was only worried about this school until the moment he died. He was a really stupid old man.”

“…”

“The hometown of the heart that old man thought was this Aken Island. … Then there is no help.”

What can you do, what can you do? I was about to ask, but I was speechless.

When I imagined it by myself, I stopped expecting it.

As I said, it’s completely under the hood from here on out.

It’s a story that doesn’t exist in the scenario or in the history books… Still, I couldn’t help but check it out.

The great wizard Glockt met his end in a hut in the Rameln Mountains at the northern tip of the continent. And Lucy, who was guarding the side.

Although he was saddened by the loss of his father and teacher, Grandpa, the reality still flows. Now, all that is left of Lucy is a shabby cabin without an owner and a cold corpse.

There comes a time when you have to choose your own life. The period of being protected by someone in the cradle is over.

If so, what did Lucy want to do first? First he had to take care of the master’s body.

Terrible and sad, but not difficult. If it was Lucy at that time, she must have already developed some level of magic skills. It would be fine if he used moderate magic to bury the teacher in the ground.

However, Lucy didn’t do that.

After this, I had to listen to Lucy’s explanation.

“…”

As we walked along the west coast, Lucy continued her story. I was just listening to Lucy with intermittent replies.

The body is covered once with a blanket, tied well with leather straps, and kept frozen at all times to prevent decay. And if you use floating magic well, you can carry it without difficulty, although the magic efficiency is not good.

However, even if you keep doing this for an hour, quite a few wizards will be exhausted. It’s possible because it’s Lucy.

I packed roughly all of the food and junk in the cabin into my leather backpack and left the Rameln Mountains.

Destination… This is Aken Island, the southernmost point of the continent.

A wisp of goose bumps runs down my back.

Even if you open a map of the world, pick up a quill and draw a straight line… It is a distance that can only be reached by going down for a long time.

Starting from the Rameln Mountains area, south and south again.

After passing through the Great Forest of Urekle and the Great Lake Aika, to Crete, the land of alchemy, passing through the Meilan Plain, passing through the castle town of Carpea, and crossing the Tenkin Marshland, the border of the Chloe Empire was reached. It follows the lower part of the Telden River, passes the commercial city of Oldek, and passes the Countess of Aoln, the Baron of Islan, the Viscounty of Sale, the Duchy of Rosteeler, the Marquis of Feder, and the Earl of This.

After crossing the Zenit Mountains, crossing the Dres River, heading southwest through the territory of the Margrave of Zahul, passing through the Kranfell Great Forest and going far along the plains, the Mexes Bridge connecting to the island of Aken comes into view in the distance. .

On that journey, he endured while manifesting all the magic to maintain his master’s body, the floating magic to transport it, and even the magic to maintain and move his own body.

“…How long did it take?”

“Three months. I was a bit lost.”

By the time we arrived… It must have been hard to see him pretending to be a human being.

The place Lucy guided was a coastal cave that had to be entered even further outside the western coastal zone.

It is a cave that only comes out when you get close to the cliff area that comes out while walking along the sea path. The entrance was smaller than expected, so it was difficult to notice.

When I went inside side by side with Lucy, the inside was quite large. It is unknown if it was a natural cave or if Lucy enlarged it.

It was a cave, but the light from the outside leaked in here and there through the cracks in the broken rocks, so the inside was bright.

After going in for a while, this time it is an open view again. The outer wall itself was completely demolished, so the open sea came into view at a glance.

It is sunny and always cool with the cool sea breeze, and the flowers that have bloomed among the rocks here and there are swaying. It is quite a sunny place.

Along with the tomb, a tombstone made roughly of stone stands alone between them.

And in front of the tombstone, there were all sorts of odds and ends. They were probably items owned by the owner of the tombstone during his lifetime.

“here is….”

“It was hard to find after hearing only fragmentary testimonies from the past… but I managed to find it after walking around the island all week looking for it.”

Lucy trotted past the tombstone and sat down facing the sea.

“It’s the place where great magicians and great sages exchanged teachings and trained.”

This cave overlooking the sea was a place of memories buried in distant memories for the dead archmage.

Was it the scene that he recalled at the end of his life when he was training his magic while arguing with his teacher rather than when he was active on the continent?

At least that’s what Lucy thought, only towering tombstones stood in this open cave.

The Wind Blows. It is a damp sea breeze.

Lucy’s hair, which is tied up in two pretty braids, also dances with the wind, and catches the light of the red sky in the late evening, taking on a strange red color.

I calmly approached the tombstone and looked at the mementos lying there. They were junk like shabby staffs and old robes.

“…”

However, among them, a book caught my eye.

Any normal person… I couldn’t help but swallow my breath.

[Introduction to Aspect Magic ― Author, Glockt Elderbane]

“…”

I didn’t bother showing my emotions. However, if you’ve ever studied magic at all, you’ll know it all.

Aspect magic… There is no such thing as an ‘introduction’.

A field in which a clear system has not been established even though rare wizards have rushed in and studied for a long time. It is an area of ​​magic that is like a mountain that has not yet been conquered.

Until the moment the Archmage Glockt dies… He was writing a book that established this Aspect Magic. It was not finally published, but at the point where it was already in the form of a book, the draft was finished to some extent.

Its magical value is indescribable, and even if it is converted into monetary value, it is the same.

An old-fashioned memoir of Glockt’s visits to the Southern Continent and contemplation of the magic of that region has been sold for about 7,000 flen gold coins.

He said that the memoirs of his travels to the south would be his last book, but was he really preparing his last posthumous work by gathering his last strength?

If this book is his posthumous work and contains interpretations of Aspect Magic… First of all, I can’t measure its value in my line.

“You can take it. I don’t need it because I know how to do it anyway.”

Lucy, who was sitting on her knees while looking at the sea… spoke conscientiously.

This book is a memento of Glockt. Understanding what that would mean for Lucy, I couldn’t just give an answer.

However, Lucy looked up at the sky and talked.

“This is where my journey ended.”

From the Rameln Mountains to the Isle of Aken.

It was a hellish journey just imagining it, but the reason why I was able to finish the journey in the end must be because of the remorse left by my teacher.

“Still, I haven’t lived half of the life I’ve been given. I might start a new journey again, or I might end up just living like this. Still… I’m going to keep the promise I made with that old man.”

“A promise that you will always keep if a crisis comes to Sylvania?”

“That’s the last remaining duty for me.”

The question of how do you know that did not come back. It was because he had already heard about the will Glockt had left for Lucy.

That last promise is the reason Lucy is not leaving Sylvania, and it is the last remaining spell in her life.

Only after keeping that promise will I be able to leave Glockt completely…

“I’m afraid of the ’emptiness’ that will come after shaking off all this.”

For Lucy, she talks a lot.

However, the voice that sits down and looks young is still the same.

On the other hand, the sky I looked up at was still peaceful and beautiful.

As Lucy, who must have watched Glockt’s twilight up close and lived, she realizes how terrifying it is to be thrown into this wide world without any reason to live.

I know it myself. Lucy was gifted with impossibly strong powers.

Not only could he become the best wizard on the continent if he was determined, but he might even threaten the heyday of Sylvania and Glockt, known as rare wizards.

However, if what remains at the end is nothing but futility, then what is the meaning of life?

That’s why the girl finds a reason to live. Just as the teacher had done, he lived his whole life running away from the void.

The master had memories of this coastal cave and Sylvania. At the end of that life, there were quite a few memories worth looking back on.

How far will Lucy be allowed? Sometimes it turns into anticipation, sometimes into fear, and it sleeps endlessly coiled around one side of the girl’s chest.

So, I have to be lazy.

Losing interest in the world, I have no choice but to live with the flow.

By coming all the way to this island of Aken and burying the master, the first journey of his life was completed to some extent.

At that point, the girl’s world was gradually becoming achromatic.

Do you feel depressed for some reason when you come to this grave?

The girl sniffed while hugging her knees. She’s not so much that she cries, she’s just that she’s a little gloomy. Because it’s already past.

Lucy speaks in a soft tone.

“It’s not a very pleasant story, and it wouldn’t be fun to hear it. It would be troublesome to come here again…”

Behind him, sitting still in front of the tombstone, I quietly listened without answering.

“I just wanted to show you.”

There is only one ordeal left in the life of a girl who quietly watches the sky.

After going through that, I will be able to get away from the master’s shadow and spell, and lead my life to the fullest.

However, a life without direction is like a ship lost in the current.

It’s not like I don’t know that feeling at all… I just sat with Lucy for a while.

The sun was setting in the western sky.

The occasional sound of the rising waves echoed against the walls of the cave.

Thanks to the cool breeze of late spring, I didn’t feel cold or hot even after sitting for a long time.

It was fortunate.